Actress and Singer, Kylie Cantrall is Redefining What It Means to Be a Valley Girl With Her Newest EP, Valley Girl Problems.

From the press conference hosted by °1824

By Bethany Mikrut

Los Angeles-based actress, singer, and performer Kylie Cantrall recently released her project, Valley Girl Problems, in July. The musical elements and inspiration draw on modern, Y2K-inspired, and early 2000s R/B pop elements. Cantrall's early fame arose from her roles in Descendants as Red, Gabby Duran in Gabby Duran & The Unsittables, and, most recently, Danny in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. She first dipped into the solo music scene with the release of her 2016 track titled "Sleep is 4 Suckas," under Hello Kylie, and her 2019 Disney Voices track, "That's What I'm Talkin' About."

Valley Girl Problems touches on her life based in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County, heartbreak, and personal pain. The valley was a crucial piece of Kylie's life that influenced her to write about life in a valley where you frequently run into friends and create a routine. Within the last year, Kylie created a social media series titled "Life of a Valley Girl," where she shared day-in-the-life videos in addition to highlighting local businesses and cafes. She mentioned that people responded very well to it and inspired her to dive deeper into more aspects of living in the valley and greater Los Angeles. She states, "It is cute and glitz and glam, but this is the problem going on," to describe the inspiration behind her creating Valley Girl Problems out of the series. Ultimately showing that although someone may appear to have a put-together and perfected life, they can be a mess on the inside. In response, "Carrie Bradshaw" was the first track written to describe the Sex and the City character as she "has it together on the outside, but a mess on the inside," which set the vibe for the rest of the project.

Throughout the conversation, honesty was one of the most emphasized aspects of Valley Girl Problems. She also mentioned that Valley Girl Problems is her most honest and raw project yet and states that "open wound is a great way to describe it." When she was initially writing the tracks, she wanted disco and partyful songs, but ended up cutting most of them because that wasn't where she was in her life at the time. She mentions that many unreleased tracks written in this era will be saved for later, when it hopefully applies to her, Samantha Jones core, filled life.

Kylie emphasized the importance of her collaborators and producers, including Tayla Parxs (Arianna Grande, Panic! at the Disco, Fifth Harmony) and Tricky Stewart (Rihanna, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears). Cantrall states that "the right people will find you," and emphasizes that songwriting and inspiration came naturally to her in the studios with them by her side. Cantrall explains that much of the theatrical narrative comes from natural conversations between collaborators about life and heartbreak, in addition to early life in front of cameras and television. Because of her relationship with her collaborators, writing has become her favorite part of the music process as it feels so natural to her, and after each step, the tracks would "reveal more about themselves." Instrumentally, Kylie takes large inspiration from early 2000s R/B and pop tracks that "parents put you on to." She also mentions that instead of forcing fake nostalgia onto the listeners, much of her musical inspiration flows naturally and unintentionally into the lyrics and instrumentals of the tracks, as it became engraved into her head from childhood musical influence.

Since much of her lyrics and instrumentals are based on her childhood characters and inspirations, she hopes that she can draw listeners to new types of music and her musical inspirations, including Beyoncé, who defined the early part of the 21st century. Hence, her gravitation towards collaborator Trixy Stewart. Although many of her younger fans may not understand niche musical references, she hopes that she can bring a new audience to the music that was so foundational to her.

Valley Girl Problems includes 9 tracks ranging from pop bangers to slower ballads. The project first starts with "grwm," which sets the tone for the EP by creating a put-together persona while hiding underlying feelings and emotions. Then it shifts into the title track, "Valley Girl Problems," which includes similar themes of glamorous aesthetics and vulnerability of the 818 area. "Closet" follows up with a narrative of going through past heartbreak, memories, and relationships disguised as clothes and physical memories. Following a short interlude titled "The Problem," about strained and hard relationships, "Carrie Bradshaw" discusses raw vulnerability about heartbreak, perfection, and covering up emotions. "The Answer" follows it by serving as another short interlude discussing clarity and closure, and is followed by "Girls Like U," which discusses jealousy and female friendships. Finally, "Yuck!" and "Space Between" close the album by discussing self-awareness, acceptance, and moving and distancing apart. Overall, Valley Girl Problems has a track for everyone, regardless of your place in a relationship.

Kylie also mentioned how her previous television roles influenced and matched some of the aesthetics and themes of her discography. She mentioned how Gabby would enjoy "Denim," Danny would like "Closet" and "Goodiebag," and Red would stream "Girls Like U" and "Yuck!" Ultimately, the connection between her past and her present seems to be heavily intertwined.

This July, Cantrall celebrated the release of the EP with a sold-out hometown show at The Roxy in Los Angeles. This show was a crucial and pivotal moment in Kylie's musical career. She reminisces about the feeling of seeing her fans, "singing the lyrics, seeing their faces, and connecting to her music." In addition, as a hometown show, Kylie felt like it was full circle after seeing so many artists play The Roxy as a child to finally experience her turn. This performance did help her develop her intimate performance for her upcoming tour, compared to the arena tour, where she couldn't see fans' faces.

Following the recent Descendents/Zombies: Worlds Collide Tour, Kylie used technical inspiration to plan elements of the 2026 solo tour titled The Valley Girl Problems Tour, including lighting and visuals. During this tour, she wants fans to think of the intimate setting as one big party and quotes, "we are all partying together," and describes the tour as valley-core, fierce, sparkly, and personal. Since many of her performances and choreography feel less intimate, especially in slightly bigger theatres, she still wishes to maintain personal connections to her fans through spontaneous gestures and moments, including reading signs and interacting with her fans. Ultimately, Kylie is excited to sing her recent releases in addition to her older anthems such as "Goodiebag," "Denim," and "See You Tonight."

Kylie is redefining the valley girl aesthetic from past societal notions to sharing a new, messy side of herself with her audience. Make sure to catch one of Cantrall's shows in a city near you and stay tuned for her next era, where she wants to expand on how she has "come out of everything that has happened."

Stream Valley Girl Problems out now.